Sheffield Wednesday match preview

Introduction

• West Ham United travel to Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup with Budweiser third round. The tie marks the first meeting between the two clubs since the Hammers scored a 4-2 League Cup second-round victory at Hillsborough on 20 September 2005.

• The Hammers and Owls have met three times previously in the FA Cup, with the Yorkshire club coming out on top each time. Sheffield Wednesday recorded a 1-0 first-round success at Hillsborough on 8 January 1921, a 2-1 sixth-round win on 12 March 1986 and a 2-0 fifth-round replay victory at the Boleyn Ground on 25 February 1987 following a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough four days previously.

• West Ham United won their 1964 FA Cup semi-final replay at Hillsborough, defeating Manchester United 3-1 on 14 March 1964. Ronnie Boyce scored twice and Geoff Hurst once in front of an estimated 65,000 fans.

• West Ham United travel to Hillsborough seeking to extend an impressive away record this season. The Hammers have collected more points on their travels in the npower Championship than any other club (24) in 2011/12.

• Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten at Hillsborough this season, winning nine and drawing two of their eleven home league matches. In the knockout competitions, the Owls knocked Championship side Blackpool out of the League Cup and defeated League Two club Aldershot Town in the FA Cup second round.

• West Ham United have lifted the FA Cup on three occasions, in 1964, 1975 and 1980, and were runners-up in 1923 and 2006. Sheffield Wednesday have also won the competition three times, in 1896, 1907 and 1935, while the Owls were beaten finalists in 1890, 1966 and 1993.

• The Hammers reached the sixth round last season courtesy of home wins over Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Burnley before going down to a 2-1 defeat at Stoke City in the last-eight.

• Sheffield Wednesday reached the fifth round in 2010/11, ending a run of five consecutive third-round exits. Having entered at the first-round stage this term, the Owls won 2-1 at League Two Morecambe before defeating Aldershot Town 1-0 in the second round.

• Unlike in npower Football League matches, both clubs will be allowed to name seven substitutes under FA Cup rules.

• A replay will be required if the score is level after 90 minutes. It would be held at 7.45pm on Tuesday 17 January at the Boleyn Ground.

Team news

West Ham United

• West Ham United are likely to name a much-changed side to the one which scored a 1-0 npower Championship victory over Coventry City on 2 January.

• The likes of Gary O'Neil, Henri Lansbury, John Carew, Frank Nouble and Freddie Sears could be restored to the starting XI, while youngsters Dan Potts and Rob Hall could also be included. George Moncur and Brian Montenegro, yet to make their first-team debuts, will also hope to figure, with the manager able to name seven substitutes.

• Winston Reid is likely to feature as he continues his return to full match-fitness following eight weeks out with a dislocated shoulder, while Sam Baldock is also hoping to get more game time after his return from a month out with a hamstring injury.

• Herita Ilunga has returned from his loan spell at Doncaster Rovers.

• Marek Stech (shoulder), Matt Taylor (calf), Abdoulaye Faye (calf) and Guy Demel (thigh) are the only injury absentees.

• Pablo Barrera and Jordan Spence are on season-long loans at Real Zaragoza and Bristol City respectively. Cristian Montano (Dagenham & Redbridge), Peter Kurucz (Rochdale) and Callum Driver (Burton Albion) are out on temporary loans at present.

Sheffield Wednesday

• Former West Ham United goalkeeper Stephen Bywater has joined Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer from Derby County, having played 12 times for the Owls during a loan spell earlier this season.

• Defender Danny Batth is available after extending his loan spell from Wolverhampton Wanderers until the end of the season. Newcastle United defender James Tavernier has also been given permission to play by his parent club, but it remains to be seen if on-loan Stoke City winger Ben Marshall is allowed to take part by the Potters.

• Full-back Jon Otsemobor returned to action on New Year's Eve after four months on the sidelines with an Achilles tendon injury.

• Leading scorer Gary Madine has been nursing a broken toe but is hopeful of making a return to first-team duty soon.

• Right-back Lewis Buxton has missed the Owls' previous eight matches with a hamstring injury, but could be back in action this weekend.

• Midfielder James O'Connor has played his final game for the club, having suffered a serious cut to his leg in November and announced plans to leave for the United States this month.

Last time out

Monday 2 January 2012
npower Championship
West Ham United 1-0 Coventry City
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Reid, Tomkins, McCartney, Nolan, Collison, Noble, Diop, Baldock (Nouble 73), Cole (O'Brien 90)
Subs not used: Boffin, Lansbury, Carew
Goals: Nolan 66

Monday 2 January 2012
npower League One
Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Tranmere Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday: Weaver, Batth, R.Johnson, Tavernier (J.Johnson 85), Llera, Semedo, Lines, Marshall (Prutton 90), Otsemobor, O'Grady, Morrison (Watt 71)
Subs not used: Bywater, Lowe
Goals: Johnson 2, Lines 7

Last six meetings

20 September 2005 Sheffield Wednesday 2-4 West Ham United (League Cup second round)
29 November 2000 West Ham United 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday (League Cup fourth round)
11 March 2000 Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
21 November 1999 West Ham United 4-3 Sheffield Wednesday (Premier League)
16 January 1999 West Ham United 0-4 Sheffield Wednesday (Premier League)
15 August 1998 Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 West Ham United (Premier League)

Overall record v Sheffield Wednesday (all competitions) W 28 D 24 L 40

Ten-year records

West Ham United

2010/11 Premier League 20th (relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th
2008/09 Premier League 9th
2007/08 Premier League 10th
2006/07 Premier League 15th
2005/06 Premier League 9th
2004/05 Championship 6th (promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th
2002/03 Premier League 18th (relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th

Sheffield Wednesday

2010/11 League One 15th
2009/10 Championship 22nd (relegated to League One)
2008/09 Championship 12th
2007/08 Championship 16th
2006/07 Championship 9th
2005/06 Championship 19th
2004/05 League One 5th (promoted to Championship via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Division Two 16th
2002/03 Division One 22nd (relegated to Division Two)
2001/02 Division One 20th

Referee

• Saturday's referee will be Keith Stroud.

• Stroud began his refereeing career in the Wessex League in 1988.

• In 2000, he was added to the Football League List of assistant referees, running the line at the Division Three Play-Off final between Cheltenham Town and Rushden & Diamonds at the Millennium Stadium two years later.

• Stroud returned to the Millennium Stadium in May 2003, when he ran the line during Arsenal's FA Cup final victory over Southampton.

• Cheltenham were also involved when Stroud took charge of his first Football League match as a referee in August 2004, when the Robins lost 2-0 at home to Scunthorpe United.

• In March 2007, the official was given his first Premier League appointment for Manchester City's 2-0 win at Middlesbrough. The following season, 2007/08, Stroud was added to the Select Group of referees on a full-time basis.

• Stroud will take charge of a West Ham United fixture for the third time this season, having also been the man in the middle for the visit of Ipswich Town on 27 September and the trip to Coventry City on 19 November.

• Stroud will be assisted by Robert Ellis and Danny Gratton, while the fourth official will be Andy Hendley.

Us and them

• Joey O'Brien has enjoyed two loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday. West Ham United's No17 scored on his full senior debut for the Owls in a 4-2 home League One defeat by Hull City on 8 December 2004. O'Brien made 15 appearances in total, scoring twice, during his first spell. After returning from a long-term knee injury, the Republic of Ireland international returned to Hillsborough in March 2011, making four League One appearances at the end of last season.

• Loanee Cristian Montano appeared as a second-half substitute for Notts County in the Owls' 2-1 League One victory at Hillsborough on 20 August 2011.

• The following players have worn the colours of both West Ham United and Sheffield Wednesday during their careers - Stephen Bywater, Joe Cockcroft, Paolo Di Canio, Peter Eustace, John Harkes, Arnold Lowes, Walter Miller, Joey O'Brien, John Sissons and Percy Thorpe.

• More than 20 players have made their West Ham United debuts against Sheffield Wednesday - John Dowsey (September 1926), Charlie Turner (February 1938), Johnny Carroll (August 1948), Peter Shearing (September 1960), Johnny Byrne (March 1962), Jim Standen (November 1962), Bobby Ferguson, Billy Bonds and John Cushley (August 1967), Peter Eustace (January 1970), Julian Dicks (April 1988), John Harkes (October 1995), Rio Ferdinand (May 1996), Lee Boylan (May 1997), Shaka Hislop, Neil Ruddock and Ian Wright (August 1998), Scott Minto (January 1999), Rigobert Song (November 2000), James Collins, David Bellion, Tony Stokes and Hogan Ephraim (September 2005).

• Shaka Hislop made both his first and second debuts for West Ham United against Sheffield Wednesday. The Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper first appeared in a Hammers shirt in a 1-0 Premier League victory at Hillsborough on 15 August 1998 - a game also marked by a debut goal from Ian Wright - before returning to the club from Portsmouth and helping West Ham to a 4-2 League Cup victory at the same venue on 20 September 2005.

• Sheffield Wednesday's 1-0 FA Cup first-round victory over West Ham United on 8 January 1921 was watched by the largest crowd to witness an Owls versus Hammers fixture - 49,125.

• West Ham United's biggest victory at Hillsborough was the 4-1 Division Two success achieved on 31 December 1938. Joseph Stanley Foxall netted two goals, while Sam Small and John Morton were also on target in front of a 30,000-strong crowd.

• Sheffield Wednesday's biggest-ever home win over West Ham United came in the shape of a 7-0 Division One success on 28 November 1959.

Up next

• West Ham United travel to Portsmouth in the npower Championship on Saturday 14 January, kick-off 3pm. Sheffield Wednesday host npower League One leaders Charlton Athletic on the same date.

General information

• All Adult tickets are priced at £20, while all Under-16s/Over-65s tickets are priced at £10. Tickets will be available on the day at Hillsbrough, with cash turnstiles in the Carling West Stand Lower from 1.30pm on Sunday.

• Due to major roadworks at the M1/M6 junction, an alternative route is suggested here. Head out of London on the M11 and continue northbound for 51 miles until the road becomes the A14. Continue along the A14 for 16 miles and join the A1 (M) northbound. After 78 miles join the A57. Pass through six roundabouts on the A57. At the seventh roundabout, take the M1 northbound. After 4.5 miles take the A630 (signposted Rotherham/Sheffield (Centre)). Continue along the A630 and road changes to A57/Sheffield Parkway. After three miles, turn right on to the A61/Derek Dooley Way. After 1.3 miles, bear left on to the A6101/Bradfield Road. After 0.1 miles, take the third exit at the roundabout and continue onto Owlerton Green. After 0.1 miles turn left on to A61/Penistone Road. After 0.3 miles bear left on to A6102/Parkside Road. The ground will appear on the right-hand side.

• Saturday's weather forecast is for a cloudy day with temperatures peaking around the 6C (43F) mark.